This week Florida’s senior Senator Marco Rubio seems to be very interested to being a vice presidential candidate if Donald Trump would like him to join him on the 2024 Republican Presidential ticket. Rubio hasn’t been shy about his interest in the second in command post if offered when asked in multiple interviews this week.
He told both NBC and ABC that “I think anybody who would be offered that should be honored, but I’ve never spoken to anybody in the Trump world about it,” Rubio said.
NBC News reported Wednesday that Rubio is among more than a dozen possible picks on Trump’s list and that he has been gaining traction lately. As two of Florida’s most prominent Republican figures, the two men have a number of mutual allies who would welcome a pairing on the party’s national ticket.
“It’s pretty clear from Trump’s orbit that Rubio is in play,” a veteran Florida GOP operative said Wednesday. “It makes sense because he checks almost every box if they can get past both being from Florida.” The Constitution prohibits electors from voting for a presidential and vice presidential candidate from their own home states. But there are ways around that problem: Dick Cheney, who lived in Texas, re-established residency in Wyoming before becoming Texan George W. Bush’s running mate in 2000.
According to The Daily Beast several other names have been flagged as potential running mates for Trump, including Tennessee’s Bill Hagerty, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC).
Rubio also said in his NBC interview “I mean, that’s why I’m in public service.” He added that if he gets a call from the Trump campaign, “I’ll let you know.” Despite an acrimonious past with Trump, Rubio endorsed him for president in a post on X in January, claiming, “I support Trump because that kind of leadership is the ONLY way we will get the extraordinary actions needed to fix the disaster Biden has created.”
Rubio is currently serving his third term in the U.S. Senate. The son of two Cuban immigrants, a Rubio VP pick would mark the first Latino person on a major-party presidential ticket.
It’s not clear exactly when Trump will announce his running mate, but sources told NBC it may be around June.
